


All That's Best of Dark and Bright

by Asami_T



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: (it's a thing in Harry Potter look it up), Bisexuality, Canon-Typical Cousin Incest, Crossdressing, F/F, Gen, Gender Identity, Multi, Polyamory, Polygamy, Tiresian Tonic, Trans Female Character, Transitioning, Useless Lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:55:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27705893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asami_T/pseuds/Asami_T
Summary: Remus Lupin gets dumped right before a Hogsmeade weekend. Sirius Black gets a genius idea, and with it, sets in motion something that will change the very foundation of the future.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Narcissa Black Malfoy/James Potter, Narcissa Black Malfoy/Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 6
Kudos: 48





	All That's Best of Dark and Bright

**Author's Note:**

> Name of the fic comes from the poem "She Walks in Beauty" by Lord Byron.

“Prongs, we’ve got a problem.”

James Potter looked up from his Transfiguration essay to see Sirius looking quite put-upon.

“What’s the matter Pads? You look like someone just died,” James joked.

“Might as well have! Moony got dumped!” Sirius said tragically, shaking his head. “Now he’s being a mopey sad-sack and bothering me about it!”

“Marlene dumped him? She didn’t find out about, you know what, did she?” James asked, eyes narrowing at the thought of someone being that callous and cruel to his friend.

“No, nothing like that, he says she just got bored with him, that’s all,” Sirius said. “Though, Peter and I had an idea on how to cheer the poor bastard right up.”

“You two? An idea? Should I be worried I might get killed, or something?” James asked, earning a squawk of protest and a swat from his friend.

“Come off it, you git,” Sirius said. “No, seriously– look, Hogsmeade weekend is coming up, if Remus can’t get a date, then the rest of us are going to end up spending the whole weekend consoling him. I know you’d rather spend the weekend hitting on Evans, and I know I’d _certainly_ rather spend the time trying to make out with Elizabeth Pritchard, but I think we need to do something about it. I was thinking we draw lots and someone takes him to Hogsmeade.”

James stared at him. “He wouldn’t want to date any of us. Would he?”

“Not _necessarily_ , but that’s neither here nor there– this is where it gets a bit complicated. We could chat up Amy, you know, the Hufflepuff bird? Maybe she can help us. She’s always had a soft spot for Remus, and I bet she could turn one of us into a more… _proper date_ , if you know what I mean.”

“If she has a soft spot for him, why can’t she take him out?”

“Because she’s already got a boyfriend,” Sirius said. “Never you mind that they’re on the rocks, she’s not going to let _that_ be their breakup notice. Remus would end up getting hexed six ways from Sunday by either Simmons or one of his friends.”

“Ugh, fine, let’s give your stupid plan a try,” James grumbled, setting his quill down. “How’re we going to draw lots?”

“Peter would blow it immediately, so it’s down to you and I. We flip a coin and whoever loses has to be the bird.”

“Ugh,” James grumbled. “Fine– where’s Peter?”

“Dunno, he begged off talking to you, said he had to catch up with a study group. Prat’s been disappearing a lot lately,” Sirius said with a shrug. “No skin off my nose, though. Right, got a galleon, then?”

“Yeah,” James said, fishing through his pockets and drawing a galleon. “Call it: goblins or crowns.”

“Goblins,” Sirius said as the coin was tossed into the air. James backed off and let the coin fall to the carpeted floor, where a goblin’s profile was facing up to the ceiling. Sirius flashed James a bright grin.

“You’re going to look so pretty, Jamie.”

Sirius Black was later seen leaving the hospital wing an hour later, his face covered in zits and his hair a bright pink. Obviously, he’d pissed someone off– _again._

…

Amelia ‘Amy’ Bones was one year ahead of James and Sirius– a sixth-year Hufflepuff student and one of the top students in her year in Defence. Pretty much everyone knew that one day she was going to dominate the Aurors and maybe even become DMLE head someday in the distant future. With how things were going outside of the walls of Hogwarts, it was desperately needed.

Now, the normally serious and tempermental girl was trying to contain a fit of giggles.

“You want me to do _what?_ ” she asked, looking between James and Sirius.

“We want to do Remus a favour,” James explained. “So I need you to… turn me into a girl, or whatever.”

“Turn you into a girl,” Amy repeated. “I thought you two were supposed to be genius pranksters and the like? Do you think this would even work?”

“What, do you think I _couldn’t_ pull it off?” James said in a huff. “There isn’t a single damn thing that I can’t do. If Remus needs a date to get his confidence up, and I’m the one stuck doing it, then I’ll be the cutest girl at Hogwarts.”

“Merlin’s fronts, Potter,” Amy said, snorting. “Don’t get your knickers in a twist, okay? You should think this over. Do you think Remus would appreciate being lead on by his best mates?”

“It isn’t like that,” James defended. “It’s not like I’d be around after that. A one-time date and that’s it. We tell him that I’m transferring out of Hogwarts soon and convinced Sirius to introduce us because I have _suuuuuch_ a crush on him. It’s not complicated.”

“Uh-huh,” Amy said, crossing her arms. “Tell you what, Potter. I’ll do it, mostly because I’d like to see you sweat a little bit. Lily tells me plenty of how much of a _dog_ you are, so maybe a little time walking on the other side of things will give you some perspective on why skirt-chasing is absolutely disgusting.”

“I don’t skirt-chase, I Lily-chase,” James said defiantly.

“Mmhm,” Amy said, before glancing down at her watch. “Okay, so we’ve got… a couple days? Meet me in the second floor girl’s room just before curfew. We’ll give things a try and see if we can make you into someone that’ll catch Remus’ eye.”

“I’m so glad it’s not me doing this,” Sirius said with a chortle, earning a glare from James and Amy. “I- I just think I wouldn’t look that good in drag.”

“You’re lucky I don’t know how to brew Tiresian Tonic or I’d be dumping it in your bloody goblet at breakfast tomorrow, Black. Now both of you get lost,” Amy said with a huff, dismissing the two Gryffindor fifth-years expertly with a wave.

…

The following evening, James snuck out of the Gryffindor dorms just before curfew and made his way to the second-floor girls’ bathroom. It was remote, save for the residence of one of Hogwarts’ ghosts. Moaning Myrtle and Amy were having a conversation as soon as James had stepped into the room, closing the door behind him and shedding his cloak.

“I was thinking you might not show up, Potter,” Amy said with a grin. “Come on then, let’s see what I can do with clay like you.”

“I told her I think you’d make a lovely girl,” Myrtle said softly.

“Um, thanks, Myrtle?” James said, blinking in confusion. “I’d say I appreciate it but I don’t know how to take it.”

“It’s a compliment, I promise,” Myrtle said, flashing him a smile of her own before disappearing into a nearby toilet with a echoing giggle.

“Here, try these on,” Amy said, tossing a bundle of clothing at James, who plucked it out of the air and looked at it. It was a soft yellow Hufflepuff jumper and a green, orange and yellow hashed skirt. “We’ll use this as a landmark to see if you’re able to pull this one off.”

James huffed and made his way into a nearby stall and fumbled his way through taking his shirt and trousers, and changing into the offered clothes. It fit _well enough_ , much to James’ chagrin. He had hoped that he wouldn’t fit and the whole thing would be completely for naught.

“I had a feeling you’d fit just right,” Amy said with a grin as James came back out of the stall. “I think if we added something around the chest area, you’d have that very… _natural_ looking girl-next-door vibe. We also need to do something about your hair. Transfiguration might work, hair is small enough of a thing to last a few hours, but we’ll need to go Muggle for your makeup,”

“Bloody hell,” James murmured. “Do most girls put up with this kind of shit?”

“Not all, you’re just a very special case,” Amy said with a grin. “Let’s see what looks best for you in terms of hair. I don’t want to be caught out too late, so that’ll be all we do today. Tomorrow we’ll get your face to rights that way you can go ask Remus out.”

What followed was several minutes of Amy waving her wand over James’ head and making a mixture of tutting noises and clicking her tongue in disapproval. James was certain his hair went through every shade under the sun– from brown, to red, before he noticed it settle into a dirty blonde, though it was long, straight and silky– it had none of the rebelliousness of the Potter hair.

“Ah-ha, perfect. My, even without makeup, it really does kind of… come together, doesn’t it?” Amy said. “Thank Merlin you’ve not got any facial hair.”

“Oh, thanks,” James muttered under his breath. “Been trying to grow one since third year, and I can’t.”

“Yeah, while Black’s already got a goatee. You’re the better choice to try to pass yourself off as a girl anyway, it fits you quite well. We’ll remember this for the future.”

She waved her wand again and the blonde locks hanging in James’ face vanished, replaced by his usual unkempt raven hair.

“Now, go ahead and change back into your clothes. You can keep those, by the way– I’ve outgrown them. I want you to start thinking of a name. You certainly can’t go around calling yourself Jamie, can you– unless you _want_ Remus to know it’s you?”

“Fine, bloody hell,” James grumbled. He changed back into his normal clothes, and stuck the bundled skirt and jumper into his bag, before picking up his cloak.

“Amy. Thanks,” James said, shifting his weight. “This was weird, but thanks for helping me make Remus feel better.”

“No problem, Potter,” Amy said with a nod. “As weird as it is, it’s kind of sweet what you’re doing. Maybe you’re not such a horse’s arse.”

“See, now, you can’t say that. You might ruin my reputation,” James said impishly, sticking his nose up.

Amy merely rolled her eyes.

…

Sirius was waiting up for James when he returned to their dorm room. Remus and Peter were gone, and Sirius had been smirking– even though he’d suffered the wrath of James just a day prior for being a cheeky bastard.

“So, how’d it go?” Sirius asked.

“Fine,” James responded, opening his trunk and dumping his cloak, the jumper, and the skirt into it before closing it again. “She says your stupid plan might just work. Moony still on patrol?”

“Yup,” Sirius said with a nod. “I’ve been tracking him and Wormtail on the Map. I actually wanted to talk to you about that– do you know that Wormtail’s hanging around Malfoy?”

“What?” James asked, before Sirius forked over the map to him and showed him what he was looking at. In an abandoned classroom on the sixth floor, Peter Pettigrew’s name was floating in close proximity to that of Travers, Malfoy and Goyle. “Why would he be- do you think he’s in trouble?”

“That’s just it– I don’t. He’s been hanging around them almost every night. If he was getting beat up, don’t you think we’d have seen it– or he would’ve said something?”

“I don’t like it,” James murmured. “Why would he hang around a bunch of arseholes like that?”

“Their parents are all supporters of that one bloke you always see in the news,” Sirius said, folding his arms uncomfortably. “Just like my parents. D’ya think Wormy’s one of ’em?”

“He might be,” James said. “I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt but, I don’t know. He’s changed a lot since last summer.”

“We’ll keep our eye on him– but one thing at a time,” Sirius said. “Let’s get Moony out of being a sad sack, then we’ll figure out if Wormtail’s a dirty traitor or not.”

“Great priorities there, Padfoot,” James groused, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Since you’re going to be unhelpful, maybe you can come up with a name. I can’t run around calling myself Jamie, so think of something. In the mean time, I’m going to sleep. If you wake me, I’ll bloody well kill you. Good night,”

Sirius blinked as the irritable Potter boy crashed into his bed and chuckled slightly.

“Night, Prongs. Sleep well.”

…

“Belladonna,” Sirius said maganimously.

“Whazzat?” James said, pulling on his robes.

“Belladonna– the name you asked me to think of. It’s suitably posh, isn’t it? I know you’ve got a thing for girls with flower names and all, so… you know, boom, there you are.”

“Belladonna? Are you sure you want me to have the same nickname as our batshit crazy cousin?”

“Not so crazy anymore, not since Uncle Cygnus and Aunt Druella got killed in crossfire during that last Death Eater attack. Far as I’ve heard, she ran off to France and eloped with a veela,” Sirius said gleefully.

“… You know, of all the things I expected, I didn’t have ‘Bella runs off and gets hitched’ on my list. And I even factored in things like Narcissa moving in with Andy. How’s she doing, by the way?”

“Acclimating to life at Beauxbatons, fortunately Grandfather was insistent she get to finish her childhood in a place that didn’t involve a seventh year trying to get her to marry him,” Sirius said, shivering. “I still want to gouge out Malfoy’s eyes.”

“Yeah, well, we promised we wouldn’t. Mum would kill me if I did,” James murmured.

“Belladonna,” James said, getting a feel for the weight and cadence of the words on his mouth. “That’s rather long-winded. That can be the fullname, but what about Ellie? A bit Muggleish, but approachable.”

“I guess that works,” Sirius said, shrugging. “I did my part. Now, are you just planning on walking up to Moony and asking him out or what?”

“I was planning on having you introduce us as one of your hare-brained schemes. I figure you could bother him enough to make him feel obligated to take me out. We have a good time, and then… that’s it?”

“Sounds good. What about your voice?”

“Transfiguration or potion, I wager,” James said dryly. “It only has to last a few hours, at most. Amy might know what to do.”

Amy had, in fact, known _exactly_ how to deal with that problem, but she needed help. She’d practically dragged her friend Penny into the whole affair to quickly take care of a potion that would give ‘Belladonna’ an appropriate voice and disguise James’ true nature. Penny had thought the whole idea was “sweet, but in a funny way that only you and Black could pull out of your arse”.

From there it was merely the cosmetic touches to get James through the goalposts. A deft, expert application of cosmetics to smoothen his features and accentuate his eyes and lips; combined with a much larger pair of glasses that made him look that much more like the innocent young woman he was disguised as, as well as styling his long blonde hair into something cute.

When Amy and Penny were both done, Belladonna– Ellie, for all the resistance to the idea that James had put up, could probably easily take the title of cutest girl at Hogwarts.

“Bloody hell, what have I gotten myself into,” Ellie said, staring at herself in the compact mirror Amy had handed her.

…

Lily Evans was seated among the Gryffindor students on Friday morning, prodding at a pair of sausages with her fork. Alice Howe was seated to her left, sitting atop the Gryffindor rumour mill like a petty queen. Today’s subject was, in fact, the fact that Remus Lupin had gotten dumped.

“I heard that Marlene got _bored_ with him because he wouldn’t put out,” Alice said conspiratorially. “Poor guy’s taking it pretty hard.”

“Hogsmeade weekend is coming up,” Lily murmured. “I’m sure he’ll find a new date.”

“Maybe not– not everyone appreciates the stability date,” Alice said. “That and the fact that if you pick up Lupin, you get Potter and Black as a package deal.”

“Ugh, Potter, don’t remind me about that git,” Lily said, glaring down the table to where James Potter typically sat, only to be greeted with the sight of Peter Pettigrew eating his breakfast alone.

“Where are they?” she said, narrowing her eyes. “Must be up to no good.”

“I don’t think so– I saw Lupin in the hospital wing this morning. Poor bloke must’ve been feeling sick,” Alice said. “And I’m sure Black and Potter are just sleeping in. You know how they are sometimes.”

As they said that, Sirius Black made his appearance, hands tucked into his pockets as he made his way to his typical spot on the benched seating and plopping down and helping himself to some toast. He’d immediately engaged himself in a tight conversation with Pettigrew, who looked a bit spooked at whatever it was they were chatting about.

“Black, but no Potter? Is he sick or something?” Lily asked, earning a shrug from Alice.

“Hey, who’s that?” Alice asked, and Lily turned her head and came to see probably the best thing her eyes had ever seen. Amy Bones, the sixth-year Hufflepuff prefect was entering the room, talking with the prettiest girl Lily had ever seen in her life.

Lily had known since she was thirteen that she liked boys and girls equally. As much as James Potter’s smug face made her feel butterflies, she’d also found herself staring at some of the upper-years girls’ arses on more than one occassion. However, not a single one of them held a candle to this mysterious Hufflepuff girl with flowing honey hair and bright eyes.

“Jesus Christ,” Lily murmured, watching the girl follow Amy over to the Hufflepuff tables. She was clearly shy and unfamiliar with socializing, but the way she was at least friendly with Penny Laine and Amy Bones was encouraging.

The pale, sickly form of Remus Lupin swept in soon after, taking a seat beside Sirius and striking up a rather weak conversation with him. Sirius grinned at him and said something before standing up and pulling Remus along, this time over to the Hufflepuff table. Lily blinked in surprise as they seemed to hone in on the young girl, and she felt her heart squeeze a bit.

 _If only,_ she thought to herself, frowning. She should’ve known that it was too good to be true. A girl that cute would _never_ want to be with girls. That was always her luck.

…

“C’mon, Moony. Amy’s got a friend she wants you to meet,” Sirius said quite seriously, earning rolled eyes from Remus.

“Pads, I don’t think it’s necessary,” Remus said. “I’m not interested in dating anyone else.”

“Would you at least meet her?” Sirius asked. “It’d be quite rude not to, you know.”

“Fine,” Remus said with a huff, following his friend over to the Hufflepuff table. Sirius hoped that this would work, but even if it didn’t, it was one hell of a prank on James that he usually couldn’t get.

“Ah, there’s our favourite Gryffidors,” Amy said, grinning at Sirius and Remus. “Penny, you remember the boys?”

“Hey,” Penny said flatly, not looking up from her breakfast.

“So, Aimes, you said you had a friend you’d like Remus to meet?”

“Oh, yes,” she said wryly. “Remus, I’d like for you to meet my friend Ellie. Ellie, Remus Lupin.”

Sirius had to admit– if he didn’t know the girl that had turned to face Remus with a soft smile on her face was James Potter… he’d be sorely tempted to flirt with her. James made a _very pretty girl_.

“It’s nice to meet you, Remus,” Ellie said in a soft voice. “Amy’s told me a lot about you.”

“T-Thanks,” Remus said, his face flushed. “Um,”

“I’m new to Hogwarts,” Ellie said. “and I don’t have anybody to accompany me to Hogsmeade. She mentioned you recently got dumped and… I don’t know, would you be interested in going together?”

“Together?” Remus asked, blinking. “I- um, okay, sure.”

Ellie’s smile was bright and radiant at her offer being accepted, and Sirius was kind of in-awe at how convincing his best mate was at the whole thing.

“Um, would you like to meet in the Entrance Hall tomorrow morning, or…?” Remus asked, and Ellie nodded.

“That sounds fine,” Ellie said.

It didn’t take long for the rumour mills at Hogwarts to churn about this new girl Ellie– even before they’d left breakfast that morning. Sirius, Amy, Penny and Ellie herself had been instrumental in creating a backstory that everyone seemed to accept. Her name was Belladonna Newell, she was a fifth-year transfer student from Beauxbatons (Sirius was kind of clever that way, turning James’ fluency in French into a boon for them) and Penny’s distant cousin through her mother.

Of all the people in the school, Lily Evans was one of the most interested in the new girl.

“She’s _French?_ ” Lily said, looking at Alice in disbelief. “And the first thing she does when she gets here is date one of Potter’s stupid friends?”

“Lily, for the love of Merlin, would you stop talking about James Potter? For someone who hates his guts, you sure do talk about him a lot,” Alice said with a grumble, throwing a pillow at her friend.

…

Ellie wasn’t surprised when almost as soon as she’d finished her breakfast and bid a hasty retreat to take off her disguise that she was pidgeon-holed by McGonagall and Professor Audley– the Head of Hufflepuff.

“I was surprised to learn that we had a new student– particularly a transfer, Miss Newell,” McGonagall said firmly. “You’re quite lucky nobody put two and two together, Mister Potter. Did you really think you could get away with this?”

Ellie’s face flushed red and she waved her hands in front of her. “It isn’t what you think, Professor. I’m not doing it to peek on girls or anything.”

“Explain,” McGonagall demanded.

“Remus got dumped by Marlene McKinnon– he’s my friend and Sirius had this really silly idea that one of us should throw together a female disguise and take him out on a date to raise his spirits. He gets really mopey when he’s by himself. I drew the short straw and got saddled with it. Amy and Penny helped with… all this,”

“Only you and Black could come up with such a convoluted plan,” McGonagall said, rubbing the bridge of her nose in irritation. “You’re not doing this to do anything untoward?”

“No. I might be a skirt chaser, Professor, but I would never do that,” Ellie said defensively.

“In the case, you will require special accomodations due to medical concerns, Miss Newell.” Professor Audley said with a nod. “I know you’re really a Gryffindor, but I must say that this little action of yours is truly a Hufflepuff one.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Ellie murmured.

“I’ll have Madam Beckett tell anybody who asks that James Potter contracted a nasty case of spattergroit and is in a quarantine ward until Monday.” McGonagall said with a nod. “This should keep your cover intact, Miss Newell, and allow you to avoid any untoward questions. I would be careful in changing disguises in the middle of the day.”

“Um, thanks, Professors,” Ellie squeaked, and the two older women merely smiled at her.

“Come on, let’s get you some place to hide,” Professor Audley said. The place to hide in question was a comfortable private dorm room in the same corridor as the Hufflepuff commons– it was across from the kitchens. Audley had given her a look when explaining that obviously, no visitors after curfew, she could visit the kitchens if she behaved herself, and the other standard rules.

“I was wondering about you, Mister Potter,” Professor Audley said. “You’ve always been quite a bully, but seeing you be willing to go through this kind of thing for a friend is… refreshing,”

“I’m a little shocked at myself for being so okay about this,” Ellie responded, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. “I’m a little freaked out… but it’s only for the weekend. It’s only for the weekend.”

“Is there anybody whom you’d like to have the password to this room?”

“Amy Bones, Penny Laine and Sirius Black,” Ellie said, wringing her hands. “They’re the ones who’re behind all this.”

“Alright, I’ll make sure the portrait knows they can come in,” Audley said, before gently squeezing Ellie’s shoulder and leaving.

“Oh Merlin,” Ellie said to the empty room. “Why the _fuck_ did I do this?”

…

“I didn’t think Audley or McG had it in them,” Sirius crowed, grinning at a frustrated looking Ellie.

“I wanted to change back after that little show at breakfast, but now I’m basically stuck like this until Monday,” she hissed. “This is all your fault, you bastard!”

“James, chill out,” Amy said softly. “It’ll be okay.”

“If anybody finds out what I’m doing, I’ll never be able to show my face at Hogwarts again!” Ellie said, flopping back onto the small couch she had in this private dorm. “Do you not realize that? The fact that McG and Audley were able to figure out who I was so fast, won’t someone else? What about Snivellus? He’s not exactly an idiot, you know.”

“I don’t think Snape gave you even a second look,” Amy said. “Besides, he was too busy making doe eyes at Lily.”

“Lily was so furious at me and Remus for ambushing you, but… I don’t know, it was like she was jealous?”

“Jealous? Does she have a thing for Moony?” Ellie said, dread pooling in her stomach.

“No, I think she’s got a thing for the cute shy blonde,” Sirius said. “Alice said she was basically staring at you the whole time.”

“Is she a lesbian?!” Ellie asked, horror in her eyes.

“I think she might be bi, James.” Amy said, amusement clear in her voice at the flailing of the young teenager. “You’re at no risk of being even more repugnant to her than you already are.”

“Har-dee-har-har,” Ellie said, glaring at Amy. “No, that would be a bad idea. She’d figure me out so fast…”

“Are you certain about that?” Amy asked. “Who is Ellie Newell? Thus far all we have is that she’s a shy transfer student from Beauxbatons who got sorted into Hufflepuff. For all you know, Lily could hit it off with Ellie in a way she never did with James ‘Sunshine Shines Out Of My Arse’ Potter.”

“I’m not that bad, am I?”

“You’re not the worst I’ve seen, but you’re still pretty full of shit,” Penny pointed out. “Not many girls like the self-confident braggart. Use this weekend to spend some time around the girls. Get a feel for _just_ what our feelings are about men like you.”

“Undercover work,” Ellie said with a snort. “As long as I don’t get hexed if I get caught out.”

“Nah, you’re cute enough that nobody’ll suspect a thing. James Potter isn’t the kind of bloke to throw on a skirt anyway– at least, as far as anybody knows.”

“The things I do for my friends,” Ellie complained.

…

“H-Hi, Remus,” Ellie said softly as Remus greeted her at the doors to the Entrance Hall. Accepting his offered arm, the two walked to the carriages that carried them down to Hogsmeade.

“So, I’ve heard you’re from Beauxbatons?” Remus asked. “What made you transfer to Hogwarts?”

“My parents are anthropologists, and had to go on an extended tour to Africa,” Ellie said, coming up with a total bullshit story on the spot. “They sent me to live with Penny and her parents, so I transferred to Hogwarts in the interim.”

“How are you finding it so far?”

“It’s very nice. The people are quite kind,” Ellie said.

“You must not have met James Potter. He’d have been hitting on you pretty much straight away,” Remus said innocently, and Ellie stared at him for a second.

“Um, I- I heard he got spattergroit?”

“Yeah, Sirius said that,” Remus said. “I apologize if I’m not a great date. We can visit Honeydukes first, then maybe get lunch at the Three Broomsticks?”

“That sounds lovely,” Ellie said politely. “W-What are those?”

“Ah, right, you’re new,” Remus said good-naturedly. “Honeydukes is a candy shop, and Three Broomsticks is a warm pub that sells good food. It’s not nearly as gag-inducing as Madam Puddifoots.”

With every ounce of energy within her, Ellie dutifully accompanied Remus through the village– first stopping at Honeydukes to acquire some chocolates and other sweets, but a subsequent stop at Zonko’s (and resisting every urge to start looking for new pranking tools, instead, she had to put James Potter aside and focus on being singularly focused on Remus) and _Scrivenshaft’s_ had been added to the itinerary.

A couple of hours later, they ended up at the Three Broomsticks.

“Ah, Lupin! My favorite little miscreant. Speaking of miscreants, where’s Dorea’s boy?”

“James is sick and couldn’t come,” Remus said lightly. “Madam Rosmerta, I’d like for you to meet my date.”

“Belladonna Newell,” Ellie said, gently greeting Madam Rosmerta. “Y-you can call me Ellie, though.”

“Pleasure. Glad to see you’re not wallowing in self-loathing after what that McKinnon girl did, Lupin. Your usual?”

“Yes, please. Ellie, would you like something to eat?”

“Fish and chips, please,” Ellie said softly, taking a seat in the booth across from Remus.

“Coming right up. Tea or butterbeer?”

“I’ll take some black tea,” Ellie said, brightening up some at the prospect of caffeine.

“Butterbeer,” Remus said with a smile.

As soon as Madam Rosmerta had left, leaving the ‘couple’ alone in the corner booth, Remus had tapped his fingers against the butterbeer bottle. “Thanks for taking pity on me, Prongs.”

“No problem, Moo-” Ellie started before stopping. She stared at Remus in horror, who merely smirked at her.

“You knew?!” she nearly shrieked, keeping her voice low. “All this effort, and you knew?!”

“You forget, with my… little problem, I can smell people. You still smell like James Potter. If you’d taken Tiresian Tonic, or maybe Polyjuice, it’d be harder. But you’re still you underneath all of that.”

“You _bastard_. You took me to Zonko’s and Scrivenshaft’s on purpose. Didn’t you?”

“I wanted to see how seriously you were taking it,” Remus said non-chalantly. “Was this a prank?”

“No,” Ellie said, folding her arms. “It was Sirius’ idea to cheer you up. He thought if one of us dolled ourselves up and took you out and made you have a good time, you’d forget Marlene McKinnon and stop being such a sad sack all the time. It was a dumb idea that I went along with because I’m an idiot.”

“As long as you’re willing to admit it,” Remus joked. “I really do appreciate the fact you… went to this extreme to make me happy. You’re a good friend.”

“Mmm,” Ellie said softly. “I’m kind of annoyed I went through all this for nothing.”

“We can finish the date,” Remus said. “You are cute.”

“Fuck you,” Ellie said with a roll of her eyes. “Fine. We’ll finish the date, but you’re paying for it.”

“I would expect nothing less,” Remus said with a smirk. “Something else that my little problem tells me is that every time Lily or Amy sees you, their pheremones go nuts. I wouldn’t discount Ellie as a useless gesture just yet. You might _finally_ get a date with Lily Evans.”

“Look, it’s one thing to date my friend like this, but _Lily Evans_? I couldn’t handle it if she was laughing at me for crossdressing.”

“I don’t think she’d care,” Remus said wryly. “You never know until you try.”

“So you say,” Ellie said, before their lunch showed up. “Damnit, now I’m embarassed.”

“Don’t be, you’re a better friend than I’d be. If you got dumped by someone, I’d just pay off a seventh year to buy you firewhiskey and let you get drunk and cry all night. I wouldn’t… do what you did.”

“Well, you’re my friend, and I hate to see you upset,” Ellie defended. “Even if it means wearin’ a skirt.”

After a lunch full of light joking and ribbing, Ellie and Remus returned to the castle.

“Thanks for the afternoon, Ellie.” Remus said, before gently kissing her cheek. Ellie glared at him as he winked at her and headed for Gryffindor tower. Feeling frustrated, she immediately retreated back to the private accomodations she’d been provided, and practically threw off her disguise and returned to being James Potter.

“What a _fucking_ miserable idea,” James groused, glaring at the outfit Amy had loaned him for today. “That’s the last bloody time I let Padfoot talk me into anything.”

After a hot shower to scald every inch of his skin free, James had changed into a simple shirt and trousers and had settled for reading on his couch until Amy and Sirius showed up for their own inquiries about the success of the day.

“From the sour look on your face, I take it didn’t go well?” Amy asked as she popped into the room about a half-hour later, Sirius in tow.

“He knew _from the very first minute we met_ ,” James hissed, before drawing his wand and tossing a casual hex at Sirius. “He can _identify us by smell_ you bastard! I’m lucky he was as polite as he was, he could’ve made me look like a massive horse’s arse.”

“He knew and _still_ took you out?” Sirius asked.

“Yes,” James said. “He thought it was a nice gesture on my part, but still. I feel completely humiliated,”

“Oh, for the love of the Gods, Potter. Quit being so sorry for yourself!” Amy snapped. “Do you not know how many girls and boys I’ve had come up to me and Penny today asking about you?”

“She isn’t bloody real! I’m done with it!” James hissed.

“You’re telling me you didn’t have fun _at all_ being a girl for a day? Bullshit,” Amy said. “You wouldn’t have let it get nearly this far if you didn’t enjoy it at least a little bit.”

James merely glared at her and folded his arms petulantly.

“It’s too bad,” Amy said. “I was actually thinking about asking Ellie out next.”

James and Sirius merely stared at her in shock.

“I’m not into guys. Like, at all. But Ellie is _just_ cute enough where I could completely forget all that. That, and I think if I did that, it would make Lily Evans jealous. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

James narrowed his eyes before sighing in resignation. “Fine, _one date._ ”

“One date’s all I need,” Amy said smugly.

…

So it was that the very next day, Ellie found herself on the arm of a new companion as they entered Hogsmeade. Amy was far more of a presence than Remus had been, and seemed dedicated to the idea of treating Ellie as if she were just any other girl. Amy was the farthest thing from a high femme, but she certainly appreciated the occassional boutique and the like.

It was almost as if she was getting her jollies on making Ellie as off-kilter as she could.

After a particularly excruciating hour spent at one of the local boutiques selling dresses, Ellie and Amy were emerging when they nearly ran into the familiar red-haired Gryffindor of Ellie’s dreams.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!”

Ellie clammed up at the sight of Lily Evans looking at her with _concern_.

“Oh, you’re that new girl,” Lily said warmly. “Ellie, isn’t it?”

“Y-Yes, that’s right,” Ellie said with a nod. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“Right, sorry. Lily Evans, Gryffindor,” she said. “I’m sorry to hear that things between you and Remus didn’t work out. I hope that Potter or Black didn’t dissuade you from him– he’s a nice boy.”

“Oh, no,” Ellie said with a soft shake of her head. “That wasn’t the reason at all. Remus _is_ very nice, and we just… you know, didn’t feel compatible.”

“Well, it was nice of you to take him out anyway,” Lily said.

“That’s Ellie for you,” Amy said, gently snaking her arm around Ellie’s waist and flashing a mischievous smirk. “She’s considerate and kind and caring,”

“Oh, are you two…?” Lily said, awe in her voice.

“Maybe,” Amy said with a light smirk. “We’ll let you get back to your shopping, Lily. I promised Ellie I’d show her around the rest of the village.”

“Oh, alright,” Lily said, blushing some. “Um, I’ll see you both later, then?”

After Lily had gone, and Ellie and Amy had put some distance between them and the building, Ellie gave Amy a look of betrayal.

“What was that?” she hissed.

“Me defending my date from oblivious bisexuals,” Amy said with a grin. “I know you’ve got a thing for Lily, but you’re with me, remember? Besides, this’ll just make her _even more jealous_!”

“Yeah, but I don’t think she’ll want to date me if she ever finds out I’m not a cute little Hufflepuff,” Ellie defended, earning an apathetic shrug from Amy.

…

As Sunday came to a close, James was once again stewing in the absolute discomfort he was feeling. He felt wrong in his own skin for the first time in his life, like something had shattered the thin veneer of confidence and satisfaction he drew from his day-to-day life, and had left him feeling exposed and uncertain. Staring at himself through the mirror, he felt a combination of disgust and terror– from what, he didn’t know.

A knock came on the door to his dorm and James wandered over and opened it, coming face to face with Minerva McGonagall, Dorea Potter, and Charlus Potter.

“Oh, Merlin,” James murmured.

“Not quite,” McGonagall said with a wry smile. “Mind if we come in, Mister Potter?”

“Of course,” James said, gesturing with a sweep of his arm as the three adults came in. “Make yourselves at home. I was just getting ready to finish my homework and go to bed.”

“It’s quite alright, we won’t take up too much of your time,” McGonagall said. “I was forced to include your parents into the loop of your… current affairs after they were accidentally sent the draft letter we prepared informing them of your infection of spattergroit. Despite my best efforts, they were unconvinced that you were safe until I showed them to you myself.”

“You told them?” James said, wincing.

“Oh yes– and mentioned that I thought it was a remarkably loyal thing to do for Mister Lupin,” McGonagall said.

“We’re not mad at you, dear,” Dorea said softly. “I just know you quite well and know you’re likely struggling to deal with your feelings. You’ve always carried your heart on your sleeve, so to speak.”

James cringed and sighed. “I’m having a bit of a hard time with it, yeah. It’s like everything I’ve known about myself has been broken and it’s all in pieces and I have no idea what to do now.”

“What do you mean?” Dorea said, leaning forward, placing a gentle hand on her son’s.

“It was easy. I had my place in Gryffindor’s pecking order. I was who I was, people either liked me for being a Quidditch player and a prankster, or they hated me because I was kind of a vindictive ars- kind of person,” James said, correcting himself before he swore in front of his parents. “Even with the little time I’ve spent as… someone else, I almost feel like there’s this part of me I’ve been missing and never… knew was there?”

“There’s nothing wrong with that, dear,” Dorea said with a smile. “You’re only fifteen, you’re still discovering what it means to be yourself. Your father and I will always love you just the way you are, no matter what that is. These are times where we can ill afford to insist on tradition and normalcy.”

“You know the girl I like, Lily Evans?” James said. “Well… she won’t give me the time of day as James Potter. She hates my guts… but as Ellie, she’s… practically lovesick. Amy keeps trying to suggest I try to get to know her as Ellie but how can I lead someone on like that and _lie_?”

“Lie about what? Who you are?” Dorea asked, and James nodded.

“Well,” Dorea said. “How do you know this Ellie isn’t part of you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You created this character to give your friend happiness– and you stuck with it. You leveraged the parts of your personality that are sincere and kind to create a character that sees the world through innocent eyes. I think she’s just as much _you_ as _you are_. Does that make sense?” Dorea asked, observing her son through her calculating slate eyes.

“Somewhat,” James said, furrowing his eyebrows.

“I think you should stick to this for a bit, see if your feelings change. You’re unsettled, I can feel it. After we chatted about it, Minnie and I came up with an interesting idea,” Dorea said, before reaching into her robe pocket and drawing out an orb on a thin gold chain.

“Mum, is that-”

“A Time-Turner, yes,” Dorea said with a nod. “Being Head Unspeakable does have its benefits– I want you to use this– _responsibly_ , to see what makes you happy. Do you get what I mean?”

“Yes, I think so,” James said with a nod, turning it over in his hands. “I… I guess you’re right. I don’t know how I feel about Ellie yet. I should hate being her… but I don’t, and I don’t know what that means.”

“It’s alright,” Dorea said. “Like we said, we’ll love you just the same. By the way, Minnie told me about the first name you took. It’s a very beautiful name. I don’t think I could’ve picked anything better for a daughter.”

“Sirius suggested it,” James said, blushing. “It wasn’t too bad, though we agreed not to call her Bella because of Cousin Bella.”

“Wise,” Dorea said with a smirk. “Now, your father and I must get back home, but I’m glad to see you in good health. Good luck, James. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to send me a letter, I’ll answer it straight away.”

“Love you, Mum,” James said, hugging his mother closely.

…

So it was that James started living something akin to a double life. With the help of his mother’s Time-Turner, he would show up to meal-times and classes as both Belladonna Newell and James Potter. When he did it on Monday morning, Sirius and Amy both looked like they might have strokes.

“How-” Amy asked, dumbfounded as she looked between the smirking blonde next to her and the calm, collected James Potter strolling into the Great Hall and grinning a shit-eating grin at Sirius Black.

“I’ll tell you later,” Ellie replied as she dug into her sunny-side-up egg.

“Miss Newell, glad to see you in such good spirits,” Professor Audley said, grinning at the ‘newest’ Hufflepuff. “Here’s your schedule.”

“Thanks, Professor,” Ellie said softly before setting the card aside and returning to her breakfast.

Amy, ever curious, looked at her friend’s schedule, and noticed that it was definitely a Hufflepuff schedule, and had several key overlaps with the Gryffindor one. The calculating girl narrowed her eyes at her friend, who merely gave her a serene, yet very dry smirk in return.

“At least I get to spend more time with my girlfriend,” Amy said smugly, earning a blush from Ellie.

“Shut up,” she murmured, sticking another forkful of egg in her mouth to prevent herself from saying anything else.

…

Somehow, James was managing it. Whole days as Ellie, whole days as himself, they began to blur together in a swirl of… _everything_. As James he was starting to notice the green envy that was springing up in Lily’s eyes, while as Ellie, she was enjoying the romantic attentions and adorations lauded upon her by Amy, who seemed perfectly okay being very friendly and romantic with the honey-haired Hufflepuff she’d designed.

It was all terribly confusing for the young Gryffindor.

When the next Hogsmeade weekend came up, Ellie had found herself in the company of Amy, Lily _and_ Penny, with the new “thing” being that Lily and Penny had agreed to come as friends and maybe gawk at cute boys and girls together. Before they could even get started on the afternoon, Amy had guided them to the Three Broomsticks, claiming she was _starving_.

After ordering food, Amy and Penny both excused themselves from the table to use the restroom, leaving Ellie alone with Lily as they waited.

“I’m glad we have a chance to talk again,” Lily said. “How are you liking Hogwarts?”

“Oh it’s wonderful,” Ellie said warmly. “Very nice people and all sorts of fun. Never a dull moment, either.”

“Right?” Lily gave a wry laugh. “Do you like sports much?”

“I’m a fan of Quidditch,” Ellie said. “The school teams at Beauxbatons were always very captivating and daring with the sort of break-neck moves they’d make. What about you?”

“Among wizard sports, yeah, Quidditch is good. I’m more of a football girl myself, but that’s only because my dad spent a lot of time practically raising me by football.”

“Sounds like a lot of fun,” Ellie said. “I’d really like to learn more about the Muggle world. That’s why I signed up for Muggle Studies, y’know.”

Lily gave her a bright grin. “Things are changing so much on the other-side, or at least, it seems that way to me. When you’re here among magic, you kind of forget there’s a whole big world out there, you know?”

“I could see that. They outnumber us, what, twenty to one?” Ellie said, raising an eyebrow. “It’d be quite odd if they were completely stagnant.”

“Yeah,” Lily said with a nod. “What’re you thinking of doing once you’re done with school?”

“I was thinking of becoming an Auror,” Ellie confessed. “I’m not so sure about that anymore. There might be a better use for me elsewhere. I haven’t quite made up my mind yet. I’m hoping that my OWL results guide me towards something I’m happy with.”

Lily nodded in agreement. “I feel the same way. I’ve thought about getting a mastery when I’m done with school, and teaching for a living. It might be nice,”

“Oh, I think you’d be a wonderful teacher,” Ellie said with a smile.

The two found themselves being increasingly drawn in a conversation, completely forgetting the fact that their dates had seemingly abandoned them. When they’d finally run out of things to talk about, they’d merely stared at each other for a few moments before Ellie smiled.

“Would you like to walk around the town for a bit? Or do you want to head back?”

“Eh, let’s walk around town for a bit,” Lily said with a smile. “You’re pleasant enough company.”

“T-Thanks, I try,” Ellie said, blushing. “You’re pretty neat too.”

Ellie cringed internally. What was it about throwing on a skirt and being around Lily Evans that turned her into a simpering idiot? Here she was, _on a date with Lily Evans_ , and she was stuttering and couldn’t come up with anything more suave to say than _“you’re pretty neat too”?_

Despite castigating herself internally, Ellie tried to get herself back under control and accompanied Lily as they walked through the town.

“I love this time of year,” Lily said happily, sitting on the edge of the fountain near the center of town, the fall leaves littered around her. “The air’s starting to get crisp, but it isn’t so cold that it starts snowing yet. The trees all turn these beautiful colours and, ugh. It’s perfect,”

“You look lovely against the autumn trees and the like,” Ellie said. “Between your hair, your eyes and the fact you like to wear browns, you look like you could be a wood nymph.”

“Aw,” Lily said. “That’s the sweetest thing anybody’s ever said to me. You should know you’re quite cute too, Ellie. Your hair is gorgeous. Is it natural?”

“Yeah,” Ellie said, gently running her hand through the long honey locks. Technically, they were natural– they just weren’t _born_ natural. _Transfiguration and all that_ , Ellie mused to herself.

“I was horrified when I saw Sirius Black wander up to you that first day you arrived. I was afraid that he and Potter would get to you before I could,” she said jokingly. “They try so hard to get the girls, no tact at all. They’d get more girls too if they acted the right way, it’s almost a shame they’re such gits.”

“What do you mean?” Ellie said, craning her head. “I haven’t had much of a problem with them.”

“James has been a little less of a pillock this year,” Lily said. “But just, the way he and Black cavort around and act like they’re God’s gift to women. It gets a bit annoying, you know? It’s like, yeah mate, we see that you’re incredibly athletic and that you look positively delicious in a Quidditch uniform, but when he opens his mouth and sounds like a posh snot…”

“You like James Potter?” Ellie squeaked.

“Like is a strong word. I think he’s quite a looker,” Lily said. “But then again, I’m also quite partial to girls, particularly cute little blondes. There was one blonde girl in the year under us, she was positively _adorable_ , but she was a Slytherin, so that kind of was dead on arrival. Slytherins… don’t tend to mix with the other houses too often.”

“There was?” Ellie asked, surprised that Lily had been _skirt-chasing_ someone.

“Narcissa– she was one of Black’s cousins,” Lily said. “We met up a couple times and chatted, but it never went anywhere because of her parents and Slytherin. She told me she was leaving, but she never said exactly why. But, really, enough about past flames– I think I’ve found another cute blonde to occupy my time.”

She leaned in and gently kissed Ellie on the lips, causing the blonde to let out a mewling moan and sink into Lily’s embrace out of shock or… alternatively, having the greatest fantasy in her adolescent life being fulfilled.

“I’m glad Amy and Penny abandoned us,” Lily said. “She won’t know what she’s missing.”

“I’ll say,” Ellie said faintly.

“We should probably head back to the castle,” Lily said, grinning at Ellie. “If I start snogging you, I’m going to end up outside after curfew.”

Ellie blushed brightly as they made their way back to an available carriage that took them up to the gates of Hogwarts. During the ride, Lily had surprised Ellie with a passionate snog, one that lasted the length of the trip. As soon as the carriage had stopped, Lily detached herself from Ellie and had jumped out of the carriage.

“See you tomorrow, then?” Lily asked.

“Uh-huh!” Ellie said, looking awe-struck. “S-See you tomorrow, Lily!”

…

“You _didn’t,_ ” Sirius exclaimed, grinning like a mad-man. “You actually snogged her?!”

“As Ellie,” James said dryly, glaring at his best friend and cousin. “Also, did you know that Lily was trying to skirt-chase Cissy?”

“Cissy’s a pretty girl,” Sirius said with a shrug. “I mean, if we hadn’t been practically raised together I’d probably have tried to get in her skirt at least once.”

“It was just surprising to me, is all,” James said with a shrug. “Lily doesn’t even hate us, she just thinks we’re really lame with how we try to get girls.”

“Oh, really? Is that it?” Sirius said dryly.

“Well, we’ve kind of stopped being raging arseholes to everyone, but yeah, we’re a bit corny aren’t we? I’ve seen how some of the girls complain about boys using shitty lines on them. You’ve just gotta be honest. Marlene McKinnon’s been fishing around for _you_ for ages anyway. She only went out with Remus to try to make you jealous.”

“Marlene McKinnon wants me?” Sirius asked. “Are you serious?”

“Well considering that’s all the girls have been talking about, yeah,” James said with a nod. “It isn’t like girls talk in code either, you know.”

“I don’t understand women,” Sirius protested.

“What’s there to understand? They’re thinking, feeling humans. They want respect, love and compassion and all those cheesy things you read about in books. If you try to be a respectful person, you might just get lucky in more ways than one.”

“Merlin’s fronts, being a girl has made you wise,” Sirius said. “What happened to the thick ignorant git I love?”

“He got lost somewhere between putting on his first bra and snogging Lily Evans while wearing lipstick,” James said with a roll of his eyes. “All thanks to you– so thanks, I guess.”

…

As the fall continued, Lily somehow managed to find time during the days and weeks for her and Ellie to be alone. Either in unoccupied classrooms or broom closets or the Astronomy tower when it was unused, Ellie found herself learning quickly the art of kissing, and the various ways to gently encourage a girl to enjoy herself. Because of her paranoia of Lily somehow stumbling upon her secret, Ellie had ended up getting with Sirius to brew some Tiresian Tonic in secrecy.

With that, where she had previously been stuffing bras and doing it all manually like a muggle might, now she was able to slip into an admittedly comfortable female form, complete with everything one would reasonably need to get by. She didn’t even look that much different from what she usually looked like as Ellie– every change could easily just be attributed to misremembering, even her long honey hair was now a natural feature and not just a transfiguration– thank you, Grandmother Callidora.

Thanks to all that, Ellie was finding herself enjoying her “private” time with Lily even more as now she could freely allow hers and Lily’s hands to roam without fear of coming across something Lily wasn’t expecting to find. It was a relief off her shoulders to know that now her secret was safe.

The realm of female sexuality was… something that Ellie had been unprepared for.

“Have you _really_ never been intimate with anyone before?” Lily had asked one afternoon, as they sat in an unused alcove together.

“N-No,” Ellie shook her head. “You’re the first person I’ve ever gotten any further than… simple flirting, really,”

“Oh, wow,” Lily said, softly smiling. “Um, well, I guess it’s mostly a game of finding what the other person likes? You seem to be very sensitive around your neck and you really like it when I touch your breasts, so… I just go off that?”

“Do you have a particular… thing you like?” Ellie asked, gently tugging on the collar of her uniform shirt and blushing profusely. “b-because I can do other things than just kiss you.”

“You’re more than welcome to touch me too,” Lily said warmly. “Would you like to?”

Ellie blinked in surprise before her eyes drifted down to Lily’s chest. Lily was already in the middle of unbuttoning her blouse, exposing her simple bra for Ellie to look at. She then reached around her back and popped her bra loose, exposing her chest for Ellie to see.

Ellie gently reached her hand and cupped Lily’s breasts in her hand, her blush deepening. “Merlin, they’re perfect.”

Lily giggled before it turned into a chortling laugh. “I was worried you were straight,” she said dryly. “God, I didn’t need to be worried at all.”

“Yeah, no, girls are… _amazing,_ ” Ellie murmured.

…

Lily Evans was a girl on Cloud Nine. She’d told herself going into fifth year that this was going to be the year that made the difference. She’d gotten a prefect’s badge, learned to start ignoring James Potter’s bullshite, and dedicated herself to finding a girl- or boyfriend– and this year had been doing better than she’d expected, even before Christmas!

Belladonna Newell had come into her life, this cute, shy blonde girl– and had first driven her outright mad with her going out with Amy Bones and Remus Lupin– but… now Ellie was _Lily’s_ girlfriend and it was a match made in heaven. They were perfect together. They had similar interests, similar senses of humour, and both had a very strong appreciation for snogging.

That last bit seems very stupid but for Lily it was serious. A lot of people in wizarding society were rather posh snobs, constantly up their own arse about propriety and all sorts of other things. Yeah, you’d snog a bit, but anything below the neck was nearly off-limits unless you were serious about each other.

Ellie? She was right down with it, having no qualms at all about secluding in closets and going as far as they were both comfortable– and neither one had made any indication they expected a ring at the end of their time at Hogwarts.

The last days before the Christmas holidays, she and Ellie had gone on a date to Hogsmeade together, and had spent quite a lot of time having an amusing debate over just how expensive their Christmas gift for each other had to be, all the while finding time to seclude for a quick snog. Lily had been so thoroughly happy, and after leaving Ellie behind at her dorm room, she’d went to go back up to Gryffindor tower, but stopped after realizing she still had Ellie’s galleons in her pocket.

Making her way back down to Ellie’s dorm, she let herself in using the password. There was the sound of running water in the bathroom and Lily approached to let Ellie know she was there, only to stop at the sight she caught in the mirror. Ellie was slowly morphing into a familiar face– that of her most notorious foil.

A bubble of anger began to form in her chest before something else caught her eye, James staring at something he’d taken out of his coat pocket.

“She’ll never forgive me,” he murmured to himself. “This has gotten far too out of hand, but how can I tell her… that her girlfriend isn’t who she thinks she is? Or is she? I’ve never been so confused before…”

Lily had gone pale, and before she was caught, she backed out of the room entirely, and found herself standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall for support. _What the fuck?_

Ellie was James Potter? Her sweet, beautiful, shy Ellie– was _that git?_

What the _fuck?!_

She looked up to see Sirius Black approaching, but as soon as he caught eyes with her and saw her expression, the smile on his face vanished.

“Evans,” he said evenly as he approached. “We should probably find a classroom and have a conversation.”

“I want to know what the fuc-”

“Not here,” Sirius said darkly. “Find a classroom. I’m not asking. I’ll explain everything as best as I can if you’ll just fucking stop for a second and find us some privacy.”

Lily closed her mouth, glared at him and they made their way up a couple floors to find an abandoned classroom. Entering it, Sirius closed the door behind her and locked it, before sitting up on one of the desks.

“So, given your expression, you’ve found out,” Sirius said.

“Yes,” Lily grit her teeth. “I found out that this was all just a sick perverted little prank of yours. What the _fuck_ is wrong with you two?!”

“Hey, let me finish,” Sirius said. “You can either shut the fuck up voluntarily, or I can hex you until you shut up, Evans. Let me finish explaining shit before you jump to stupid conclusions.”

He raised a finger. “First of all: Your sweet little Belladonna was invented for the sole purpose of giving Remus _a good time at Hogsmeade_. You remember the day she showed up? That was supposed to be one of two public appearances before she disappeared forever.”

“Second. Do you not know how much James has been raking himself over the coals for leading you on? He’s wanted nothing more than to kiss you and be in a relationship with you since practically the day we all met on the train. He’s gotten what he wants finally, but it’s predicated on the fact that Belladonna _doesn’t exist._ But… she does. James has been spending whole days as her since the end of October, spending more and more time as a girl. I think he’s genuinely happier like that than he is as his normal self.”

“Third: We’ve been brewing Tiresian Tonic. Honest to Circe’s Tiresian Tonic– specifically to help James make sure he can be what you expect him to be. I don’t know how he feels about taking it, but he seems to be happy every time he comes back from a date with you. Amy and I have had to listen to him gush about how kind and caring and compassionate you are.”

Lily didn’t say anything, and merely looked distant. “This wasn’t for a big joke?”

“No,” Sirius said flatly. “I’d never joke about something like this.”

“Ellie’s so… genuine and sweet and… all these things that James isn’t.”

“James hides behind a defensive shell. He’s the only kid of two older parents, and he’s afraid of failure. Being Ellie… lets him let go of all the bad things he’s got inside of him and be someone else. Maybe when he finally realizes just how much he likes being Ellie– and that it isn’t all to make you happy or someone else happy, he’ll find a happy medium between who he is as James and who he is as Ellie, but honestly… he’s _genuinely_ happy, not the kind of fake happy Remus likes to put on all the time.”

“I…” Lily said, before stopping. “He could’ve told me the truth.”

“Yes, but would you have even remotely considered dating him after finding out the girl you’d been lusting after was really him? You hate his guts, Evans.”

“I don’t– I even told Ellie that! I think he’s fit, but he’s an arsehole.”

“Is Ellie an asshole?”

“No, but…” Lily said, before realizing the logic loop. “Fucking hell,”

“He genuinely likes you. A lot. If you want to break up with Ellie, that’s fine. I don’t think James would begrudge it– in fact, I think he’d leave you alone for the rest of time out of the sheer _shame_ of it. But, you could always accept that it wasn’t done in bad faith.”

“I need some time to think,” Lily said, shaking her head. “That’s not a no to… maybe, but I really do need some time.”

“Talk to Amy if you want– she helped him with his first appearances, but ever since you took over as the girlfriend, she’s largely just been an elder sister figure to Ellie, she could tell you more about how this is all going down.”

“I might,” Lily said softly.

…

Returning home on Christmas was never Lily’s favourite thing. Her parents were proud of her for being a witch, but they were hardly the most understanding of people. They approved of witchcraft, but not of lesbianism. Weird, that.

Petunia was much worse now, where she’d once been constantly in a huff that she wasn’t a witch, now she almost… _looked down_ on Lily for her magic. Lily blamed that dumb Vernon bloke that she was always hanging around. The fatarse was the posterboy for the Young Tories in their local area. Lily idly wondered if she should tell her father that Petunia was volunteering for the Tories. That’d throw some stones at a hornet’s nest.

She wondered what Ellie- James- Ellie, was doing right now. Was she still unaware of what Lily knew? Was she at home with her parents and Sirius, having a good Christmas? Did they celebrate Christmas or some old-time pagan tradition? A lot of stupid questions that occupied Lily’s agitated and busy mind.

It was these times of the year that really… _illustrated_ just how alienated Lily was from the rest of her family now. She had a feeling this would likely be the last Christmas she spent at home. After a terse dinner where Petunia sniped and snipped at her for being a witch– and her parents ignored it for the sake of peace, Lily had decided that enough was enough. Christmas was ruined, and Petunia could go roger herself and her Tory boyfriend.

After grabbing her stuff, she summoned the Knight Bus.

“Where to, miss?” the man asked as she took one of the available beds.

“Is it possible to get to Potter Manor from here?” she asked.

“Potter Manor? Yeah, I believe they’ve still got a public access,” the conductor said, nodding at the driver.

The ride itself wasn’t too bad– going from Cokeworth to wherever Potter Manor was (Wales, apparently?) had only costed her a few sickles and she’d gotten a hot chocolate for her troubles. Potter Manor itself was an estate that boggled Lily’s mind. It wasn’t a castle like the Queen’s, but it was big enough to where she could reasonably see… more than one family living in it at a time.

The gates themselves were shut, and she could feel the faint presence of magic imbibing them. Her instincts told her that if she tried to force her way in, she’d get a nasty shock.

Approaching the gate carefully, she was suddenly met by a pop and a suspicious looking house-elf.

“I recognizes ye not,” the elf said with a sniff. “and thou art not a Potter.”

“No, I’m not,” Lily said, bending down to the elf’s height. “I’m Lily Evans. I’m… one of James’ friends. May I please come in? I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

“I will be asking mine Lord and Lady,” the elf said. “Don’t move from here.”

The elf popped away again, and after a few minutes of nervously waiting, pacing back and forth on the gravel entrance, the elf returned.

“Young Master James says he recognizes you,” the elf said. “I am allowed to bring you into the Manor.”

“Thank you…?”

“Mipsy,” the elf replied.

“Thank you, Mipsy.”

The elf laid a hand on her and her trunk, and in an instant, the world shifted around them, and a festive, well-decorated living room popped into existence.

“Master Charlus, Mistress Dorea– I present to thee Miss Lily Evans,” Mipsy said with a bow before disappearing again.

“Lily! Goodness, James has told us all about you. Come here and get something warm in you before you chill. Have you come far?” Dorea asked.

“Cokeworth,” Lily said. “I took the Knight Bus, though.”

“Ah, glad someone’s getting use from that frightful thing,” Dorea said with a snort. “What brings you all the way here then, dear?”

“I couldn’t stay with my parents and sister anymore. I don’t… fit in with them– and my sister is an insufferable arse… um, pardon my language.”

“I like this one,” Charlus said with a deep laugh. “It’s not a problem at all, young lady. I’ve seen too many young witches and wizards get alienated from their Muggle families because of their experiences. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. You’ve merely… outgrown your family, so to speak.”

“I’ve never gotten along one-hundred-percent with my family. They’re working class folk, if you get my meaning.”

“Ah, coal-miners and that sort of thing, then?” Dorea offered, and Lily nodded.

“Well, you’re here now, and you can stay here as long as you need,” Dorea said. “I’m sure James will be along momentarily.”

“Lily?” James said, surprise in his voice as he came downstairs, Sirius in tow. “I can’t believe Mipsy wasn’t lying. You’re here… um, why are you here?”

“I… couldn’t say at home,” she said with a wry smile. “You’re the first person I thought of who might take me in for the holidays. If you don’t mind?”

“No, of course not,” James said, shaking his head. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you need, right?”

“Thanks,” Lily said with a smile. “You mind if we have a private discussion?”

“Oh, sure, um, Mum, Dad, can we go up to my room for a few minutes? I won’t do anything, I swear!” James said, nearly exclaiming the end of it in fear of being mistaken for his intentions.

Dorea and Charlus shared a look and a ghost of a smile before Dorea nodded. “Go ahead, dear.”

“C’mon, Lily,” James said. “We’ll talk up there. Unless this one listens in,”

“Oi, I resent that,” Sirius said.

Once they’d made it up to James’ bedroom, Lily took a deep breath and paced the room, thinking of words to say. James was seated on his bed and Sirius was lazily sitting in James’ desk chair.

“Oh, quit fretting and just tell the bloke,” Sirius said, flicking a crumpled up parchment ball at Lily.

“Fine,” she said, scowling at Sirius, before looking at James earnestly. “I know about Ellie.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, and Lily frowned.

“I mean _I know_. I went to return her coin purse and walked in on you in the bathroom. I… I _know_ about Ellie. Do you get my meaning?”

“Oh gods,” James said, the colour draining from his face. “Oh gods. Lily. I’m… I’m sorry, I never meant for it to go this far. I… please don’t hate me, I couldn’t live with myself if you hated me.”

“James, calm down,” Lily said softly. “I don’t hate you. I… I was upset at first, yes, but that’s hardly something you can blame me for. I’ve given it some thought and… well, I think it’s very sweet what you did for Remus… and that you _do_ make a very cute girl.”

James blushed and Lily merely smirked at him, before sitting next to him and taking his hand in hers.

“Do you like being Ellie? Or were you just doing it for me?”

“I… think I _like_ being Ellie,” James said, rubbing the back of his neck. “No, fuck that– I know I like being Ellie. Every time I change into her and meet up with you, it’s amazing.”

Lily laughed some. “You really do have it that bad for me, don’t you?”

“Since the day we met,” James said earnestly. “I know, that’s weird but… it’s how I feel. I’ve _loved_ you from the first time I saw you.”

“Do your parents know? About this?” Lily asked.

“About me dressing up as Ellie, yes– the two of us, no,” James said. “I didn’t have the courage to tell them that I’m a lesbian.”

Lily and Sirius both started cackling.

…

Determination was the name of the game. Sure, she’d gotten Lily something beautiful for Christmas, and she could hand-deliver it this time since Lily was sleeping a few doors down from her own, but Ellie… _wanted to do something more._

After some meticulous planning, rousing a sleeping Sirius Black briefly to explain the plan and get his support, and convincing a rather keen house elf to put together something that would really put the emphasis on how she was feeling inside, Ellie had returned to sleep, feeling all the more confident about her first declaration of _what_ she was feeling inside.

On Christmas morning, everyone was gathered in the sitting room but James, and Dorea was casting worried looks up the stairs.

“Just start, Mum,” Sirius said. “In fact, if you want to hurry it up, let’s get Lily out of the way.”

“I have a gift?” Lily asked, surprised, setting her cup of cocoa down on the table. “I didn’t think I’d have anything this year.”

“You do,” Sirius said. “Mipsy?”

With a pop and a flourish of green and red confetti, Lily found something heavy– but not too heavy, dropped into her lap with an “oof”

“Happy Christmas!” came the voice of… _Ellie!_ Ellie was in her lap! Wearing the cutest Christmas dress, looking like something out of Lily’s most ardent fantasies. Her honey hair was done up in cute buns and she was wearing a Santa hat. “I’m your present!”

“You would give yourself as a gift,” Sirius joked, earning a glare from Lily.

“I think I got the best present of them all,” Lily said, grinning as she started kissing Ellie furiously.

…

“So, Belladonna is a little more than just an invention of fancy,” Dorea said gently as she placed a cup of black tea in front of her child, while Charlus was helping Lily and Sirius clean up the mounds of wrapping paper in the other room.

“Are you mad?” Ellie asked her mother quietly.

“No, not at all! Lily is a lovely young lady, and I’ll love to see what kind of young ladies the two of you will become with time,” Dorea said fondly. “I’m always proud of you, my little miracle.”

“Mum,” Ellie blushed.

“I just want to be sure– _this_ is what you want? To be Belladonna long-term?”

“Yeah,” Ellie said with a nod. “I don’t mind being James sometimes, but I think… I’d rather be Belladonna most of the time. It’s just… more comfortable.”

“I understand completely,” Dorea said with a smile.

“Thank you for the beautiful gift,” Lily said as she entered the kitchen, gently touching her new necklace with her hand. “But most of all– thank _you_ for being you.”

“You’re welcome, Lils,” Ellie said softly. “Thank you for being so understanding.”

“After Sirius explained it all to me, I… just couldn’t stay mad, you know? You’re too cute to stay mad at.”

Ellie said nothing, but blushed profusely.

…

Time passes, as it often does.

Belladonna returned to Hogwarts with a renewed sense of spirit. With McGonagall’s help, she was put back to rights with James Potter and Belladonna Newell being merged together as one entity in the school’s records, and with her moving into a new set of private dorms close to Gryffindor Tower– just close enough to where her friends could visit without breaking curfew on any given night.

Remus had given her a great big hug, before softly mentioning to her that she “smelled right”. Like everything about her was in sync and lovely. She had nearly come to tears at her friend’s heartfeltedness.

Peter had been distant at first, but after she hooked him up with one of the Palmer twins, he had cheered up signficantly and had gotten some self-confidence. The Marauders were still notorious pranksters, Ellie still never giving up the _one_ part of herself that transcended everything and all things. The renewed sense of spirit between the four rendered them indivisible, and they plowed forth through sixth year and seventh year with renewed effort.

Thanks to Lily, she had buried the hatchet with Severus Snape. She had complimented Snape’s tactics in the dark arts, and his potioneering skills, and Snape had come to the realization that unless he too was willing to sprout a pair of tits, the chance of him getting Lily was slim to none. Giving her up lightened his heart, and made him more willing to stand out, and not follow the current that tried to pull him under.

Belladonna was not Head Girl– that honor belonged to her girlfriend. Head Boy was Remus Lupin, but more often than not, Ellie could be found sleeping in her girlfriend’s dorm almost every night, to the point where McGonagall had thrown her hands up and surrendered to the idea. Once a Potter, always a Potter.

She was, however, the valedictorian. When the graduation ceremony came, and the students got their certificates of completion, Ellie had given a grand speech about how their time at Hogwarts can change a person, for better or worse– and that the future was what you make of it, so make it a good one.

Their time at Hogwarts had ended, with unceremonious goodwill, and a sense of hope in a time mired by war.

…

Bereft of all his key supporters that would have wrecked havoc, Tom Riddle’s attacks on British wizarding society had difficulty gaining traction. He had Lucius Malfoy and his ilk, but they were more muscle and money than anything useful. Without the clever cruelty of Bellatrix Black or the clever potioneering skill of Severus Snape, he was powerful, but never enough.

Voldemort met a bitter end in 1979 when he attempted a ritual to strengthen his power, only for it to consume his very soul– and all the shards within it, rendering him a husk, and ending his reign of terror before it could even begin.

…

In the weeks following their graduation, Lily and Ellie had decided to take a vacation to France, and had visited one of the beach resorts on the Mediterranean– a place where Ellie could try out topless tanning and trotting around in a bikini, and where Lily could enjoy the sight of veela. (Even though they knew they would one day marry and be together forever, Ellie still found Lily’s love for “bird-watching” hilarious.)

On that little beach, it was by sheer coincidence that Lily and Ellie met up with a familiar face.

The tanned, platinum blonde Narcissa Black in a small bikini– with no top, owing to the style of beach they were at. It had been a chance meeting along the shoreline.

“I’d heard from Cousin Sirius that I had a new girl cousin, but… my word you’re quite something,” Narcissa said gently as she took in the sight of her cousin. “Belladonna, is it?”

“Right, but Ellie is fine– or Ell, since we’re cousins,” Ellie said with a smile. “France has been _wonderful_ to you, Cissa. Wow, you look fit.”

“Thank you for saying so,” Narcissa said, grinning. “I told Sirius that you two would eventually get together, it would just take some prodding.”

“It’s a long story,” Lily said, licking her lips. She then leaned in and whispered to Ellie who blushed brightly and looked at her girlfriend in dumb awe.

“Um, hey. How’d you like to come back to our hotel room?” Lily asked, grinning. “We could catch up on old times, the three of us.”

Narcissa raised her eyebrows. “Hmm, that sounds… quite fun,” she said with a grin.

That was the last time any of the three set foot on the beach for the rest of the weekend.

…

On a summer’s day in 1979, a very nervous Ellie was smoothing out the front of her flowing white wedding dress, casting nervous looks through a tent flap.

“Oh, don’t be so nervous,” Bellatrix Black said in a quiet tone. “They’re going to absolutely go gaga when they see you.”

“Are you sure?” Ellie asked.

“Darling, my sister drools at the sight of _anything_ with a pair of legs and a cute little arse. You may as well be the goddess Aphrodite to her.”

Ellie couldn’t help but let out a burst of giggles. She had never felt so… alive and care-free. Gods, was this what true happiness was?

“If you think they’re going to love you,” Bellatrix said with a smirk. “Just wait until you see their dresses. Though I must say, none of them went quite as far in the cleavage department as you did.”

“Lily and Cissy both love it when I show off a bit,” Ellie defended. “I wanted to make sure they had a show for the ceremony.”

Bellatrix started laughing, but stopped when she heard the swell of piano music.

“Alright, Miss Potter. Time to put a show on,” she said with a grin. “Shall we?”

“Let’s!”

With gracious, willful steps, Belladonna “Ellie” Jamie Potter stepped through the threshold of her preparation tent and out onto the sand of the beach. The aisle was lined with friends and family alike– Andy and her husband, Mum, Dad, Peter and his wife, Sirius and his wife, Remus and his husband, Amy and her wife, everyone that she loved and cared for.

Her two soon-to-be-wives looked radiant, ever the epitomes of pure beauty she’d always seen them as. She only hoped they felt the same way.

As she came to a stop at the stone triangle they’d set up in the sand, the priest spoke.

_“Dearly beloved, we gather here today to witness the bonding of Lily Marie Evans, Narcissa Violetta Black, and Belladonna Jamie Potter in a most divine trinity of marriage…”_

**Author's Note:**

> The Tiresian Tonic is the invention of my friend inklesspen, and I can't thank her enough for such a clever plot device.


End file.
